Disclaimer: Characters belong to ASP. She has no idea what will happen next. I'm going to make an educated guess. My intention is satire, but I suppose that's in the eye of the beholder.
Wednesday
Rory sat at the small round table in her one room apartment, typing furiously on her manuscript. It was going to be a series of seven books. There was just too much story to tell to try to cram into one stand alone book. So she broke it up, each book covered a year of her life, during her most formative years. More than that, she was no longer just writing a story, she was world-building. She was painting a vivid picture full of colorful characters with wacky antics. Their diversionary quirks were too important to leave out. If she couldn't include them, she wouldn't bother writing her story.
It shouldn't have come as such a surprise given her background, but this book writing thing was incredibly easy for Rory. This was what she was born to do. It was her destiny.
She glanced at the clock, to see if she needed to pick up her eight year old daughter, Elle, from Stars Hollow Elementary school. If Rory knew how incredible her kid would be, she wouldn't have been so anxious while pregnant. Even as a toddler, when Rory was busy writing the first books of her series, Elle would quietly play with her toys on a blanket on the floor. The little girl was intuitive enough to know her mother was doing something important and needed concentration.
Elle barely even required a babysitter, she was so well behaved. She had brown hair and the bluest eyes anyone had ever seen. Early on, she had developed an extensive vocabulary, at least twice that of all the other kids her age. She was so much more advanced in her class that Rory constantly worried she wasn't being challenged in the small town school. Elle was a Gilmore, to the core. Rory was sure she'd be a Yale girl one day, and already had the obsession board set up by the little girl's bed. Elle was nothing short of remarkable. Rory was amazed she had created a person so perfect.
When she got to a good stopping point, she saved her document and stretched her arms. She looked into her now empty coffee cup. She had just enough time to have more, but it would be better downstairs.
She walked down the stairs and was immediately hit with the faint smell of fried food and coffee. She pushed back the curtain to find a few town citizens browsing books. After Luke retired four years ago and left the building to his nephew, Jess did what Danes men do—he turned it into something completely his own. Using the same space as his uncle and grandfather before him, he turned it into a bookstore. At the pleading of the Gilmore girls, he kept the counter for a coffee bar. Rory had pointed out how much people enjoyed the hot beverage while perusing a good book. It set Jess's bookstore out from the others.
The walls were covered with shelves TJ had built, filled with books. It had the essence of Luke's Diner and still had the coffee, and was now filled with books. It was basically heaven.
Luke had quickly offered the upstairs apartment 11 years ago, when Rory needed a place of her own. He wasn't using it anyway, and they weren't all going to fit in Lorelai's house. Rory hadn't wanted to intrude on the newlyweds, or unload her burdens on them. She could take care of herself, and Elle too. The diner apartment was the perfect and most ideal solution. Luke reinstalled the wifi for them, and the two girls liked deciding on quirky new passwords. He did make the small request that they come over for dinner regularly, because it was still her home. Rory had grinned and promised to visit at least once a week.
She held out her coffee cup and smiled across the counter at Jess.
"What?" he asked, looking up from the book he was reading. She smiled some more, and he looked down at her cup. "How much have you had today?"
"Two cups." When he raised a brow, she added, "Okay, two pots. But I need more and it's so much better down here. I want to knock out another chapter this afternoon. The caffeine will help."
He reluctantly filled her cup. "Fiend."
She smiled in triumph. "You're a saint."
"How's it coming anyway?" Jess asked.
"Great, it's coming along smoothly. How's yours?"
"Mm, could use some revisions, but I'm trying to keep going. I don't make much progress when I'm editing the stuff I already wrote."
"Hey, I know, let me revise for you," she said excitedly, her eyes sparkling like only hers could.
"I don't have very much," he said reluctantly.
"That's okay, I'll read over what you have and you can read what I have. Come on." She pouted. "It's not every day that we're in the same stage of writing. We should take advantage of this."
"Fine," he said. "Saturday?"
"Perfect." She beamed. "It's a date." She took a sip of her coffee.
The familiar jingle of the bell over the door sounded, and Rory's best friend came in. Lane had never been as a ferocious a reader as Rory and Jess, but she still visited often since Rory lived here and Jess still served Luke's trademark coffee.
As Lane waited for her coffee, she asked, "Did you hear about what's happening over at the high school?"
"It's getting shut down?" Jess asked flatly and yet, also hopeful.
"No. They're switching to block schedule. The teachers lobbied for it."
"So?" Rory asked.
"So there used to be 42 minutes for every subject. Now they'll have 90."
"That's good," Rory said after pondering it for half a second. "The teachers will be able to get into their subjects and do special projects and have great discussions. They'll really get to be more creative without having to stop for a silly bell. It's so unfortunate when they have to stop for five minute breaks when they're in the middle of a meaningful lesson."
Jess argued, "They won't be able to make coherent use of all that time. It'll be a big mess."
Lane nodded. "Some of the parents worry that's too long to sit in one class."
"I think it'll be so much more freedom to pace things how they want," Rory said, still maintaining this was an excellent idea and what the teachers deserved all along. "They'll be able to do a lot more."
"I still vote for shutting it down," Jess said.
The three of them chatted for a few minutes more before the women left to collect their kids from school.
When it was quiet again, a blond woman stepped around from the shelves. "Hey, what's up?"
Jess looked at her, struck by the sight of an old face. "Shane."
She looked around the repurposed space. "The place looks nice. I read an article about it in the Gazette when you opened five years ago."
He nodded once. "Rory wrote it."
"Hmph. Rory Gilmore," she said, like it was loaded. "You're still in love with her, aren't you?"
He scoffed. He rolled his eyes. "We're friends."
"Don't wait until it's too late," Shane said, pausing at the door.
"Too late for what?"
"To tell her," Shane said with a knowing look before turning to leave. Jess watched her, reflecting on the heavy advice and life changing implications.
Thursday
Rory was walking with her mother through the town. Taylor was micro managing Kirk and the other volunteers that were setting up for the Spring Fling. There were going to be vendors selling flowers and activities for kids.
"Another fine festival in our town," Lorelai beamed as they walked by the preparations.
"Do you think Taylor will ever give up the reins and let Kirk run one?"
"Only if he dies and directly states in his will that Kirk is his successor."
"Kirk works hard, he shouldn't have to wait that long." Rory's phone buzzed in her pocket and she took it out to answer, "Doyle?"
"Rory, I read your first two books, and I have to say, they're brilliant," he said.
She grinned proudly. "Really? You think so?"
"Absolutely. I didn't expect anything less out of the Rory Gilmore, I was your editor, after all. I knew I had to get to you before anyone else jumped on this."
"Get to me?"
Lorelai made a gesture of impatience and gave her daughter a questioning look. Rory shook her head and held up her finger, indicating she needed a minute. This made Lorelai more impatient.
"I'm a screenwriter, Rory," Doyle said, as though she was supposed to read his mind.
"Yeah, so?"
"So, how would it sound if I adapted your books for the screen and we optioned it in Hollywood?"
"Hollywood, oh my God, Doyle," Rory said, overwhelmed with how wonderful her story was and how successful she was turning out. "I can't believe it. I never even thought of it."
"I strongly recommend you start, Gilmore. This story has so much potential. There isn't anything like it out there," Doyle said. "And between you and me, most of the television being made is mediocre. You've got something special here, much better than anything else being produced."
"Television, do you think it could be a show?"
"A show, or a miniseries, at least. I'll figure out the right format for this. We want freedom to do what we want."
"I agree, absolutely," she said. "I am hesitant though."
"About what?"
"I don't want some no-nothing studio exec dictating how I tell my story. If we do this, I want total control, or I know it won't be done right." She shook her head. "I won't do it if I can't do it my way."
"Don't worry about all that," Doyle said. "I'll make sure we find the right network for you. Let me get a pitch ready, and I'll keep you updated."
"Thank you, Doyle. I'll talk to you soon," Rory said, ending the call.
"Well, what's going on?" Lorelai asked.
"It was Doyle. He's going to write a screenplay from my books."
"Oh my God, honey, that's great," Lorelai said, giving Rory a big hug. "You're really doing it. I'm so proud of you." She pulled away saying, "I get final say on who plays me."
Saturday
The salty sea breeze gently blew the leaves on the trees in the backyard at Emily's Cape Cod cottage while the family sat in the lawn furniture overlooking the water. One of Berta's kids was talking very quickly to Elle. Rory watched, grinning with amusement at the boy's unintelligible rambling. When he skipped away, Elle went to her mother.
"I don't know what he was saying," she said.
"Aw honey," Rory soothed with a chuckle. "Don't worry about it, none of us do. Come on, why don't we go for a walk?" She stood and held her hand out for her daughter to take. They walked to the front of the house and down the sidewalk through the little village. When they had wound around a little, they could see a figure in the distance.
Elle squeezed Rory's hand excitedly before letting it go and shooting off toward the man. "Daddy!"
Rory stopped and wistfully breathed, "Logan." She regained her composure enough to walk toward the hugging father and daughter.
"Ace," Logan greeted when she approached. "I didn't know the Gilmore's would be here this weekend."
"Really? It's been on the books for ages. We come this time every year, like clockwork." And every year, she was aware this could happen. It wasn't so clandestine, as the Huntzberger's had a house here. She's spent several weekends here with Logan during college, of course.
Wretched people, the Huntzbergers, not even caring to get to know their wonderful granddaughter. Rory kept Elle as far away from them as she could. It would be terrible for her daughter to be exposed to them.
"I didn't even know you were in the country," she said.
"Colin's wedding is tomorrow, third time's the charm, maybe," Logan explained. He seemed to hesitate at first, then said, "Come with me."
"What?"
"I want you to come with me."
"How is it you would even be able to bring me as your guests?" Rory asked, incredulous.
"Things with Odette . . ." he started, trailing off as he searched for words. "They're complicated. We're taking some time to figure out what we want for the future."
She forced herself not to feel hopeful. "And?"
"And, I'm looking at my options in the States, and thinking I would love to spend some time with the Gilmore girls this weekend."
"Daddy, come on, let's go down to the beach," Elle said, pulling Logan's hand. "I have a big seashell collection and I want to get some more."
Logan gave Rory that charming grin of his as he allowed their daughter to lead him away.
Rory sighed, "Logan."
Sunday
Logan and Rory were seated intimately in a corner at the wedding reception the next night, ducked behind the tall centerpieces, though still not impervious to other nosy guests tossing them judgmental glances. They could assume whatever they wanted, Rory didn't care. They didn't know anything about her or her life, or her situation with Logan. This was just the way it was, bored rich people had nothing else to talk about. They were such fools, not even realizing how completely fascinated they were with Rory.
"Elle's an amazing kid, Ace," Logan said.
"I know. She wishes she could see you more," Rory said. "I wouldn't mind either." She asked, "So you're really moving back?"
"If I wasn't already considering it, yesterday would have cemented that I should get back as soon as I can. I don't want to spend another day without the two of you."
She tried to hide a small smile. "As soon as you can? That sounds serious."
"I am," he said somberly. "It kills me that I've missed so much. I want to start making up for it." They were sitting so close, it was easy for him to lean in for their lips to touch. When they parted, he said, "I'll get everything taken care of when I make one last trip to London next week."
"Everything?" she asked, hopeful. Obviously, they didn't want to mention Odette by name or the means by which she would be severed from Logan. There was no point in spoiling the mood.
"Everything," he confidently assured with a grin. "I just have to make sure all the t's are crossed and i's are dotted."
"And pack your stuff?" she asked. She couldn't believe it was actually happening. They were finally going to be a family, with Elle. It was what they deserved, more than anyone. The future had never been so bright as it was in this moment.
"Nah, I'll leave it all and get new stuff," he answered. "New stuff for a new life."
"That sounds amazing, I can't believe it." She didn't hold back her smile this time and kissed him, she didn't care who saw. Let them watch. They were all about to see that Rory Gilmore was ending up with Logan Huntzberger. She was good enough. She always had been. There would be no more wondering what could have been. It was happening. Elle might even get a sibling.
"Come on," he said, standing and holding out his hand to help her up. "Let's go back to the family cottage, we'll have it all to ourselves."
"I've missed it there."
"You're going to be spending a lot more time there. All three of us."
Monday
When they woke up in his bed the next morning, everything was perfect. It was a beautiful spring morning, the sun was already shining through the window and birds were chirping. Rory snuggled into Logan, his body warm. "I wish I had one of those watches that tells you how many calories you've burned."
"A Fitbit," he said drowsily. "I'll get you one. You're going to need it, for all the physical activity you're going to be getting."
She smiled into his arm. "I've never been so happy, Logan," she said. She could lay like this with him forever. When his phone started buzzing on the lamp table, he groaned. "Don't answer it," she said.
"I have to, it could be work," he said, picking up the phone. After listening for a moment, he moved the blankets to sit on the edge of the bed. "You did? When?" He listened some more. "I'll be there as soon as I can."
Startled, Rory lifted her head. "Is something wrong?"
Logan turned back to her. "It was Odette."
"Oh. Is she ready to sign the papers?"
He hesitated for a second before admitting, "She's pregnant."
All the blood from Rory's face drained. Her limbs lost feeling. She swallowed hard, trying to be strong as her world crashed around her. "And you're going back?"
He looked at her, willing her to understand. "I can't miss out on my kid's life, Ace. I couldn't live with myself."
Rory almost felt sick. She could feel the carpet being pulled out from under her, and it was gut wrenching. She was so stupid, to think she was finally going to get 'it all'. Fate was so cruel. It was like the universe didn't want her to be happy.
She nodded once, solemnly. "Of course." She watched with anguish as he got dressed. "Logan," she said. When he turned back, she said, "Congratulations."
Tuesday
Rory furiously cleaned her apartment in the afternoon. She had negative energy she needed to work off. She scrubbed the floor on hands and knees, making sure not to miss anything. She dusted. When rummaging through a closet, she came across some of Luke's stuff that never made the move. She found a cassette tape and was curious to know what kind of music he liked. She found an old radio and stuck the tape in.
"Love," a man practically shouted. As the man waxed on about how everyone deserves love, Rory chuckled at the thought of Luke ever listening to this. Someone must have given it to him as a joke, he'd always known he was in love with Lorelai. The horoscope in his wallet wouldn't make any sense if he hadn't.
She kept listening as the speaker asked Rory a series of questions about who came to mind when she had good news to share. 'Can you see her face?' Lorelai quickly came to Rory's mind. If not, it would have been such a silly question, for Rory to think of a woman. Focusing again, she stopped thinking of the obvious answer and pretended the question was asking about a man instead. 'Can you see h— face?'
Rory was dumbstruck. She saw his face. "Oh. My. God." It was like she'd been hit by lightning. How could she have missed it? He was right under her nose this whole time. She ran down the stairs, but no one was in the bookshop. She was going to scour the town, but her phone started to buzz in her pocket. It was the elementary school.
"Is this Rory Gilmore?"
"Yes. What's wrong, is it Elle? Is she okay?"
"She's fine," the secretary said. "But she's in some trouble. You need to come get her."
"Trouble? What kind of trouble? She's never gotten into trouble," Rory said in a blind panic.
"I'll explain when you get here."
When she got to the school, Rory was ushered into the principal's office. "What happened?"
"Elle left the school grounds during afternoon recess. Someone found her out on the pond in a fishing boat she'd commandeered."
"She took a boat?"
"She said it belongs to Luke."
Rory nodded knowingly. "Luke's boat. He keeps it docked near the footbridge."
"This is very serious, Ms. Gilmore. She's going to be serving detention for a week."
"That's a lot for a first time offense," Rory protested. "This isn't like her."
"I agree, it isn't. But she still needs to know what she did was wrong."
Rory silently seethed at this. "Can I see my daughter?"
The principal nodded.
"Elle, you can't just steal a boat. We have to talk if something is bothering you," Rory said out in the hallway, sitting on a bench next to the girl. "You know I want you to talk to me about everything."
The little girl was frowning deeply. "I got a bad grade in gym."
"Gym?" Rory asked. "That's not even a real subject, hon. Don't worry about gym."
Elle folded her arms. She pouted, "Now I won't have all A's."
"You're going to have to apologize to Luke. That's his dad's boat, he worked on it a long time," Rory said. "I'm going to go talk to your teacher and we'll work something out, okay?"
The girl nodded reluctantly.
Rory stood up straight and tall and set her jaw as she strode down the hall. A father who'd come to pick up his son twirled around as she went by, his eyes following the vision before him. Rory didn't have time to stop and exchange pleasantries. She proceeded to the gymnasium, where she knew the P.E. teacher had an adjacent office. The instructor was there, an admittedly attractive dark haired man sitting behind a desk. How preposterous it was, for a gym teacher to have a desk. What did he keep in the drawers? Baseballs? He looked up at his visitor.
"You're the gym teacher?" she asked.
"Yes." He gave her a once over and the corner of his mouth turned up slightly. He offered his hand. "Anthony Adams. And you are?"
"Rory Gilmore, I'd like to talk about Elle."
"As in Elle Gilmore?"
"Obviously."
He flipped to a sheet of paper on his desk, the contact information form parents had to fill out at the beginning of the school year. "Sorry, I can't. It says here Lorelai "Elle" Gilmore's mother is Lorelai Gilmore." He paused. "Huh."
"That's my real name."
"Oh. Is there anyone in your family not named Lorelai Gilmore?"
She blinked. "My grandma."
He smirked. "Your family sounds fascinating."
Getting back to the point, Rory said, "Mr. Adams—"
"You can call me Anthony."
"Mr. Adams, my daughter said you gave her a bad grade."
"That's right. She refused to participate in class today. I had to dock her points."
"For what? Not wanting to play tag? Like she'll need that in the future?"
"Mrs. Gilmore, physical education is important for school age children to be well rounded and healthy. It's good for the mind to run around, which will help them in other subjects."
"Well I'm sure the parents of the fat kids appreciate you forcing them to get up, but Elle is perfectly healthy the way she is," Rory said. "I was valedictorian—at prep school—and I only filled the minimum P.E. requirements, so your little theory about the brain is flawed." She added, "And it's Ms. Gilmore. I'm not married."
"Oh. Interesting," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "I appreciate your concern. I wish all the parents were like you, caring so much about their kids' education. But the fact still remains that this class depends on participation. It's hard to fail."
"My daughter will not fail. She's the smartest kid in the fifth grade, she isn't going to lose her perfect record because of a guy who wears sweatpants to work," Rory said.
He smirked at her lightning quick wit.
"If she was melancholy one day, it wasn't her fault," Rory continued. "She's upset about something. She deserves another chance."
"Listen, Elle isn't like the other kids. I know that as well as all the other teachers in this school. I want to help you two out," he said. "I'm sure there's a town marathon or walkathon coming up. If she were to participate, I could give her some extra credit to make up for today."
Rory sighed, not completely happy about being unfairly forced to do physical activity. But it looked like she was going to have to take it. "Fine. Thank you." She stood, "Well, I should go."
Before she got out the door, he said, "We should go to dinner."
She turned back, totally surprised. "What?"
"You and I should go out sometime."
"I'm flattered, but I shouldn't," she said. "You're my kid's teacher. And I just got out of something weird."
He nodded. "Fair enough. Good bye, Lorelai Gilmore."
She left the office and gathered her daughter so they could go. Outside, Rory's stomach leapt when she saw Jess. It was instantly replaced with shame. "I forgot about our editing date. I'm terrible."
"You aren't terrible, you're the furthest from terrible. And it wasn't a date," he said tersely.
"No, we had plans and I set you up."
"Something came up?" he asked. "Some one?"
"Yeah," she admitted. "Let me read your manuscript. I'll make it up to you. I'll give you so much feedback you won't know what to do with it."
"Deal," he said. Then he turned to Elle. "What happened?"
"Elle took Luke's boat for a joyride," Rory said. "She's upset about something."
"Some one?"
"Yeah."
Jess scoffed all-knowingly. "Where was the guy when she was moving from a trundle bed to her big girl bed?" he asked. "Or when she graduated from kindergarten or scraped her knee on the sidewalk learning to ride a bike?"
"I know," Rory said. "She should know by now not to depend on her dad, for anything." She sighed. "I've finally learned it myself."
"You have?"
She gave him a deep meaningful look, hoping she looked honest. "I have, completely." They gazed at each other for a moment longer. Then she said, "Jess, I need to talk to you."
"I need to talk to you too." They were gravitation towards each other. The old sparks she thought were dormant, but were actually just ignored, lit up between them. Her whole life had been circling around this moment, she knew now.
Neither could say another word though, when an older boy who Rory judged to be about 14 approached them. She assumed he was from the middle school. "Excuse me, are you Jess Mariano?"
"That's me," Jess said, sizing the boy up.
The boy stuck his hand out. "I've been dying to meet you my whole life."
Rory asked, "You've read his book?"
He glanced at her. "No." He looked back at Jess. "You're a writer? That's awesome, are you famous?"
Jess shook his head. "Not really. Who are you?"
"Jadyn Walters."
"Walters?" Jess asked, as though the name meant something to him. "Alexi?"
Jadyn nodded. "That's my mom. She told me you're my father, I finally got it out of her."
Jess stared. Rory gaped. It was a full minute before she regained her voice. "I'll give you some privacy." She turned back to her daughter, "Come on, let's go to Grandma's house."
At the Crap Shack a short while later, Elle stood at Luke's knee, crying. "I'm sorry I stole your dad's boat," she said. "I'm a bad girl. Take all my toys away. I should go to bed without any dessert."
"Aw, sweety, of course you don't have to do that," he said comfortingly. "The boat is fine. It wasn't your fault you were upset. You're okay, and that's all that matters."
Lorelai knelt down to hug her granddaughter. "Honey, you've had such a hard day, why don't you go to your mommy's old room and rest?"
The girl nodded and left the room.
Luke looked at Rory, tense. "What happened?"
Rory shook her head. "She was upset about Logan. She didn't say it, but I know that's what it is."
"Logan, this is his fault," Luke said resolutely.
Lorelai nodded her agreement. "Every time he's around, she's up and she's down. She's so strong, but she's Elle."
"I know," Rory agreed. "But, he's Logan, and we are where we are."
When the Ramones blared from Rory's old room, Lorelai said, "You have to admit, she has great taste."
Of course she did, after all, she was a Lorelai.
Rory abruptly changed the subject, "Hey, did you guys know an Alexi Walters?"
Luke frowned. "Jess's old girlfriend?"
"Yeah. You do know her?"
"Sure, he was really serious with her," Lorelai said. "What was, that 12 years ago?"
"That sounds right," Luke said with a nod. He looked back at Rory. "Why?"
It wasn't her place to tell them Jess's big news. "No reason. I just heard the name today and didn't know who she was. Strange, since I know everyone in this town."
"You were out, conquering the world," Lorelai said.
"She was really pretty," Luke said offhandedly.
"Oh, gorgeous," Lorelai agreed.
Rory glared at her mother. "Do you have a girl crush on her or something?"
"Ew, no. I just observed that she was very pretty."
Rory made a scoffing noise in her throat as she crossed her arms and shifted from one foot to the other. "What kind of pretty?"
"Just, you know, conventionally beautiful. She wasn't a model or anything, which isn't to say she couldn't if she tried." Lorelai looked at Rory suspiciously. "Why do you care so much?"
"I don't. I was just wondering."
"Really? Because it sounds like you might have a thing for Jess."
"Mom," Rory said impatiently. She didn't want to get flustered right now. "You're always insinuating about this. When will you stop? You know we're just friends. Everyone knows that."
"Just last week I saw him look at you like you were the last piece of pie," Lorelai said.
Rory smirked. "Mom!"
"You smiled. You like that he looked at you like a dessert."
"I do not."
"You don't have to pretend it's nothing if you like him," Lorelai said.
"I just got out of something serious, and he has his own stuff going on right now," Rory said. "I like Jess as a friend, just like he likes me as a friend," she insisted. "He provides the coffee and books, that's it. Purely platonic," Rory said, trying to convince herself it was true.
"Good, because when I picture you and Elle as a family with a man, Jess does not fit the picture."
Rory watched her mother go to the living room, feeling defeated.
After a perfect evening of watching movies and eating junk food, Rory and Elle walked back to the bookshop they called home. But Rory hesitated when she looked through the window. Jess was looking at a book with his new son. The girls went in quietly, Rory silently cursing the disruptive bell. She sent Elle up the stairs, and gestured for Jess to come over. When he did, she asked, "How's it going?"
"Great. The kid's actually really smart."
"Of course he is. If you need anything, help or advice, I'm here. I know a thing or two about kids."
Jess looked over at the boy, then back to Rory. "Thanks, but I think I've got this."
"Oh, okay," she said, hurt and disappointed. She slowly walked up the stairs, stopping at the door. Looking down at her phone, her thumb hovered over Logan's name, wanting more than anything to turn to him.
Fade to Black
"Where they lead, they will follow, everywhere, that they tell them to."